Dr. David Weissman Awarded NASA Grant

Professor of Engineering David E. Weissman, PhD, has been awarded a grant of $85,000 from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in support of “Scatterometer Estimates of Sea Surface Rain Based on Autonomous Methodology,” a project under his direction.

Dr. Weissman explains: “Scatterometers are microwave radars on orbiting satellites whose principal mission is to measure and map winds over the global oceans. The microwave signal beams that travel to the surface and reflect back to the spacecraft are affected by rain, which can partially block and interfere with these signals. But these rain effects create their own signature in the returning energy. This project is developing a method to exploit this interference so that the rain itself can be measured and quantified in a useful way. The method of analysis being used here is known as neural network analysis and modeling. This is a new exploration to evaluate the ability of these methods for satellite remote sensing applications.”

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Congratulations Dr. Weissman. In 1978/1979 I worked in the lab on one of Dr. Weissman’s projects that used microwaves to measure ocean wave heights. It was a great experience that helped me connect the reality of a harsh environment with the theory from class. I’m sure the students woking on the current NASA project will also benefit immensely from the experience.